Perception is a mirror, not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward. (W-pII.304.1)

Keep On With The 4-Star Stuff

When I was growing up, two musical artists I really enjoyed listening to were Prince and Michael Jackson. Each of them kept churning out hit after hit. I would love singing along whenever I heard their songs on the radio.

However, in those pre-Internet days, unless you owned the album, there was no way of knowing the actual lyrics.

And for many years, I was convinced that in MJ’s song Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough he was singing, “Keep on with the 4-star stuff … don’t stop till you get enough.”

Even today, when I hear the song, it is clear that is exactly what he is singing.

But he isn’t.

The lyrics are actually “Keep on with the force don’t stop … don’t stop till you get enough.”

All those years I was convinced that my perception was correct.

But I was wrong.

As it is in life. We are convinced that what we hear with our ears and see with our eyes is an accurate portrayal of reality.

But it isn’t.

Our lives are like a giant optical / auditory illusion. What we hear and see don’t show us what’s truly “out there”. Instead, they are “pictorial representations” of our thoughts.

As Albert Einstein said:

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.

It begins with our thoughts. And then we experience some external representation of those thoughts.

That bears repeating given the magnitude of the idea. What we experience in the world is not objective reality. It all starts with our thoughts, and then our experiences in the world merely show us the thoughts we had previously chosen in our mind.

Therefore, if we want to have a different experience in the world, all we need to do is change our thoughts – which is another way of saying changing our mind.

Instead of choosing the mind of judgment, pain, separation, lack, and fear – otherwise known as the ego mind, we can make a different choice. We can choose the mind of oneness, union, peace, and joy.

When we make that different choice in the mind, all our thoughts are instantly transformed from pain to pleasure. And all our experiences in the world likewise reflect our thoughts.

So the next time we find ourselves wishing something would be different in the world, or that another person would treat us differently – we can catch ourselves and remember that it has nothing to do with other people or the world.

It has everything to do with our thoughts.

And then we can make a different choice in the mind – one that will truly make all the difference.

Join me in Monday’s class where we’ll explore the unreal nature of what we think is reality, and how we can make a different choice in the mind and keep on with the 4-star stuff! I look forward to seeing you then.